Golden Retriever the best family dog because the long, soft, and dense fur of the Golden Retrievers allure most people. And, the wonderful texture of their hair makes them the best cuddling and playing companion for kids. However, if you are the parent of a Golden Retriever, you may also want a dog with long and smooth fur. But, if your dog has short hair, you may be wondering, what are the reasons for the short hair in your Golden Retriever.
Since various factors affect the hair growth and hair shedding of your Golden Retriever, there are many reasons for the short hair in your Golden Retriever. And, diet, environmental stress, mixed breed, genetic variation, and reckless grooming habit are a few of them. However, as the hair of a Golden Retriever doesn’t grow until three months, age can also be one reason for the shortness of hair in your Golden Retriever.
Undoubtedly, I will briefly describe all these points in the article. But, before that, let me first talk about the origination of short-haired Golden Retrievers and their hair length.
When Will The Hair Of Your Golden Retriever Grow?
In general, the Golden Retrievers look like a yellow/ golden ball soon after their birth due to their small and fluffy hair. And, their hair starts growly rapidly once they reach three months old. Firstly, the hairs in the tail grow, followed by the stomach, legs, and body.
Depending on the diet and health of your pet, it takes about eighteen months for the complete growth of the dense and long hair of your Golden Retriever. Also, proper grooming and care during shedding seasons play a vital role in the healthy hair growth of your pet.
Although most of the Golden Retrievers have long hair, some of them may naturally have short hair. So, if the hair of your pet fails to grow even after proper grooming and adequate diet, then your pet may be a short-haired breed.
Origin Of Short Haired Golden Retriever
While the long-haired Golden Retriever is a pure breed and comes from Scotland, the kennel club doesn’t recognize the short-haired Golden Retriever as a type of Golden Retriever because of purebred criteria. Therefore, even if there is the possibility of short-haired Golden Retrievers, their origin is unknown and lacks proper research.
What Are The Reasons For The Short Hair Of Your Golden Retriever?
Though Golden Retriever with long hair is famous worldwide, there is also much evidence of short-haired Golden Retriever. And, there may be various reasons why the hair of your pet fails to grow. Some of which are:
Mix-bred Golden Retriever
Owing to the popularity of Golden Retriever is one of the expensive dog breeds. Thus, to earn more, the breeders sometimes hybrid them. The breeders cross-breed Golden Retrievers with other similar dogs that cause the short hair of the Golden Retrievers.
The most common breed similar to the Golden Retriever and used for cross-breeding are;
- Flat-coated Retriever: This breed has a dense black coat. And the mixture of Golden Retriever with this breed gives a small black- or blonde-haired puppy.
- Labrador Retriever: This breed is 90% similar to the Golden Retriever. And, if you mixing this breed with Golden Retriever gives puppies with short black, chocolate, or yellow hair.
- Curly Coated Retriever: Puppies with half straight and half curly black or liver-colored hair are born when Golden Retriever and this breed crosses.
- Chesapeake Bay Retriever: Short golden curly plus straight-haired Golden Retriever originates with the mixture of this breed and Golden Retriever.
A Vet can easily recognize the mix-bred Golden Retriever. Thus, I suggest you visit your vet to know whether your Golden Retriever is a pure breed or not.
Extremities And Stress Of Environmental Condition
Since the body buildup of Golden Retrievers is according to the optimum and moderate environment, they do not prefer extremities. Changes in the environment lead to hormonal imbalance and degrade the health of your pet.
As a result, the hair of your Golden Retriever fails to grow fast. Hence, your Golden Retriever may have short hair.
Food Habits May Be The Reason For The Short Hair Of Your Golden Retriever
Food plays a vital role in the maintenance of healthy skin and hair. Also, there is a saying that what we take in reflects through our skin. So, give the Retrievers a healthy and balanced diet for the promotion of hair growth.
Since reckless food habits and snacking damages the hair follicles, lack of adequate nutritious food may be the reason behind the short hair of your pet.
Inadequate Care And Grooming Leads To Short Hair
Undoubtedly, proper grooming and sufficient care of the Golden Retriever are vital in promoting hair growth. And, the hair follicles can be healthy and functional only by care. Also, for hair growth, the Golden Retriever needs proper bathing, regular grooming, etc.
Therefore, insufficiency in care and concern may be the reason behind the short hair of your Golden Retriever.
Variation In Genetics Causes The Short Hair Of Your Golden Retriever.
Another cause of the short hair of your pet may be genes. And, the genetic test kit clearly explains the result for the short hair of your pet and genes. The stronger the genes of the parents, the more probability of offspring with long hair.
However, the short-haired parents do not produce long-haired offsprings. Thus, the genes are for sure the reason behind the short hair of your Golden Retriever.
Shedding Seasons
Although the Golden Retriever sheds throughout the year, the shedding is heavier twice within the year. And, if the owner fails to provide proper care and attention to the pet during these seasons, the shedding process grows heavier and off-limit. Eventually, the rate of hair growth will be much lesser than the rate of shedding.
Thus, the hair of the Golden Retriever becomes short.
Diseases May Lead To Short Hair Of Your Golden Retriever
Certain diseases like alopecia, the bald spot in hair, folliculitis, and seborrhea disturb the hair follicles of your pet. These diseases cause inflammation, itching, and dandruff in the head of Golden Retriever.
Hence, the hair cannot grow properly and sheds a lot in the shedding season leading to the shorter hair of your Golden Retriever.
Medication And Side-effects
Sometimes medication (antibiotics) promotes the growth of hair, while some drugs harm the hair follicles. Thus, it is necessary to analyze the side effects when you give the medication to your pet because the side effects of those medications may be the reason for your short-haired retriever.
Moreover, after you are familiar with the causes of short hair in your pet, you must know some tips for promoting healthy hair growth in your Golden Retriever.
What Are The Tips To Improve The Growth Of Short Hair Of Your Golden Retriever?
However, if genes and mix-breeding are the reason behind the short hair of your pet, it is impossible to grow their hair longer. But, you can manage some of the causes by following tips and tricks. The tricks are:
- Routine care, regular brushing, proper grooming, and care enhance the hair follicles and promote hair growth.
- A balanced and proper diet including all nutrients is necessary for the hair growth of your pet. Keeping a schedule of feeding and playing may be beneficial for enhancing the hair growth of your pet.
- Asking your Veterinarian for advice and giving supplements of Omega-3 and Omega-6 also promotes the hair growth of your Golden Retriever.
- Shedding seasons are very complicating and influence hair growth. Thus, daily brushing with routine care is essential for debris removal, overall blood circulation, and hair growth.
- Using an oatmeal shampoo helps in cleaning the debris, dirt, and bacteria. Besides this, shampoo also promotes the proper spreading of natural oils all over the body. Hence, it promotes hair growth of your Golden Retriever. for
What do you think? Were these tips helpful for you?
I guess you are familiar with the reasons for the short hair of your Golden Retriever now. But if you want more ideas about this issue, you can read the article- How to make your Golden Retriever hair grow fast.
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